Album reviews: Robert Cray Band and Miles Davis

Published: Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at 05:33 PM.

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Oddly, one of the most celebrated tracks this band ever created - “Miles Runs The Voodoo Down” - only appears once on this set. Thankfully, the one version included here features incendiary solos by all and rivals the studio original. Anyone obsessed with melody may be scared off by the exploratory jamming, but there is a decent amount of melody weaved into the massive globs of sound.

This box set should only be purchased by those maniacs that want every note this guy’s ever recorded. For the sane people out there, picking up a remastered copy of the original double album “Miles At The Fillmore” will suffice.

Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase Jon’s new book “Counterfeit Sauerkraut & The Weekend Teeth” at The Free Press office or jondawson.com.

Most people associate Robert Cray with the blues, but anyone paying attention knows he’s always had one foot in soul music as well.

Cray’s new album “In My Soul” may be his most overt nod to the Memphis soul that has influenced so much of his catalog. The album even features a Booker T. & The MGs-style instrumental (“Hip Tight Onions”) that references MG hits “Time Is Tight,” “Hip Hugger” and “Green Onions.” Oh, and the horns you’ve heard on many Robert Cray albums over the years? That would be the Memphis Horns, another Stax-bred institution.

For “In My Soul,” Cray brought in Steve Jordan to produce and the pairing is a brilliant one. Jordan has created a warm, intimate vibe for this sterling collection of originals and covers. Cray’s tight, economical guitar work is given a tad more growl this time out. Someone on the production team is also astute at microphone placement, as Cray’s guitar solos sound as if they are happening in the room with the listener.

Cray’s 1986 breakthrough hits “Smoking Gun” and “Right Next Door” proved there was still room to expand what blues and soul music could be, and “In My Soul” continues that tradition. New originals “You Move Me” and “What Would You Say” are as strong as anything Cray has ever recorded. Cray shares lead vocals with drummer Les Falconer on a stunning cover of Otis Redding’s “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” which is another new wrinkle.

Keyboardist Dover Weinberg contributes tasteful yet colorful support throughout. Weinberg’s sultry organ and electric piano on “I Guess I’ll Never Know” alone justify his participation. Cray may be the greatest living soul singer around, all the while going for over the top machismo. If there is a blues/soul version of Frank Sinatra, Cray would be the guy.

“In My Soul” is yet another fine album by Robert Cray. Hopefully the team assembled for this fine piece of work will reunite in a couple of years for a sequel.

Classic album: At the Fillmore 1970: The Bootleg Series, Vol. III

Artist: Miles Davis

Label: Columbia

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

In yet another vault excavation, Columbia has pulled up a multi-night live recording of the “Bitches Brew”-era Miles Davis band from 1970.

Four complete shows of such intense music might be a bit much for even the most dedicated Milesphile to stomach, but taken as separate courses this is some amazing stuff. Add to that the jazz-nerd nirvana that is keyboardists Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett briefly playing in the same band (think Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain on the same team), and you’ve got a record company money grab that is actually worth owning.

The set list for all shows was basically the same, but with a group featuring Davis, Corea, Jarrett, drummer Jack DeJohnnette, bassist Dave Holland, percussionist Airto Moreira and saxophonist Steve Grossman, no song would ever be performed the same way twice.

There isn’t enough space here or anywhere to properly deconstruct the different tempos and solos for each song without someone going cross-eyed. That being said, it’s endlessly fascinating to hear the music evolve from one night to the next. You’d think that by the end of their engagement the band’s performances would be more daring, but there are as many goose bump moments on the first night as there are on the last.

With the sublime trumpet playing of Davis threading everything together, this insanely talented band slashes their way through renditions of “It’s About That Time,” “Directions” and “The Mask” that bring jazz fusion to its zenith a mere year after it was invented. This was insane psychedelic jazz blasted through amplification usually associated with the likes of The Who or Pink Floyd.

Purists - mainly jazz critic Stanley Crouch - denounced Davis’s move away from acoustic jazz as a sell-out move. Most other people just took it for what it was: Groundbreaking music played by some of the greatest musicians on the planet. Whether this move to electric music was an artistic notion or economic reality is irrelevant. It spawned a new genre of music that is worshiped by millions nearly 45 years later, so anyone upset that Miles wasn’t content playing to 200-seat clubs should really invest in some cork.

Oddly, one of the most celebrated tracks this band ever created - “Miles Runs The Voodoo Down” - only appears once on this set. Thankfully, the one version included here features incendiary solos by all and rivals the studio original. Anyone obsessed with melody may be scared off by the exploratory jamming, but there is a decent amount of melody weaved into the massive globs of sound.

This box set should only be purchased by those maniacs that want every note this guy’s ever recorded. For the sane people out there, picking up a remastered copy of the original double album “Miles At The Fillmore” will suffice.

Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase Jon’s new book “Counterfeit Sauerkraut & The Weekend Teeth” at The Free Press office or jondawson.com.